---

---

THE NARRATOR - You're on a -

THE NARRATOR - ...wait, no. That can't possibly be right. How did you end up here?

ENDURANCE [Medium: Success] - You come to slowly, as if rousing from a long slumber. You actually *do* feel rested, it turns out. This is more than just being reset to a neutral state, it's a feeling of wholeness -- what you'd feel after waking but before getting out of bed in the morning.

PERCEPTION (TOUCH) [Trivial: Success] - Warmth.

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - A gift.

PAIN THRESHOLD - There's no pain at all. You expected *something* to be present, some kind of phantom sensation -- that's what happened last time when you stabbed yourself -- but there's nothing. Goddamnit, I'm still compromised aren't I? Shit.

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - You're sitting on the ground, hunched over. Were you... sleeping here? Maybe?

SAVOIR FAIRE [Trivial: Success] - You instinctually raise your hands to your eyes to wipe the just-woke-up eye-crust out, the motion subdued as you straighten out your back and stretch your limbs.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - As you do, you hear the sound of loose metal-on-metal -- a chain being jostled.

THE NARRATOR - You are - apparently - in the basement of a cabin, one located at the end of a path in the woods. You sit on the floor opposite from the stairwell, a heavy chain around your wrist binding you to the near wall.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Oh sure, of course - why not! As if things weren't already unfair enough, now this.

VOICE OF THE COLD - I can't say I saw this coming. What a surprise.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - You don't suppose this is some kind of retribution on His part? He did seem pretty mad at us last time, not that I can blame Him - we were trouncing Him pretty thoroughly up until the end there.

VOICE OF THE HERO - None of that matters right now - where is she?

1. ...You there, Princess? Hello?

YOU - ...You there, Princess? Hello?

INTERFACING [Challenging: Success] - Her line's gone dead, boss. If she's in here, she's not where she was before.

ENDURANCE [Trivial: Success] - Considering you aren't immediately freezing to death again -- it seems unlikely she's still around.

THE NARRATOR - ...You already know about her, don't you. And you mentioned a 'last time'. Have you been here already?

VOICE OF THE HERO - You think we should tell Him this time? Would it even matter?

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Tell Him what, exactly -?

VOICE OF THE COLD - We tried that before. It didn't work.

RHETORIC [Challenging: Success] - Unless you somehow got every single facet of your internal monologue to lie to yourself at the same time, it would *never* work.

THE NARRATOR - So you have been here before, great - just great.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - We didn't even get to choose whether to tell Him or not, what kind of bullshit is this?

1. [Examine the chains.]
2. [Look around.]
3. "Hello? Any princesses around here, by chance?"
4. Well, shit. I'm out of ideas.

YOU - [Examine the chains.]

INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - The chain is wrought iron, the texture of it rough and cold beneath your fingers. There's no obvious flaws or cracks you can see anywhere along the length of it, nor in the shackle itself. Additionally, it's hilariously bulky for its intended use -- No one bound in this would be breaking out anytime soon.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Formidable: Success] - As if. This thing's pretty solid, but it would be no match for a good application of *brute force*.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Easy: Success] - The shackle is different than the other times - it's gotten larger, big enough to fit around your own wrist now. And there's a small keyhole opposite from where the chain connects... really? Was that always there?

LOGIC [Trivial: Success] - But you don't have the key, so unless it's stashed somewhere within the distance demarcated by the maximum reach of the chain --

VOICE OF THE HERO - Wait a second. Who is that? I don't recognize them. They feel kind of like... one of you? Not one of us, that's for sure.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Something else new popping up at the same time we get stuck here? Nope, don't trust it. Not one bit.

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - Aren't you new this go around t--?

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Hey now, no need to be rude - so there's another new voice floating around in here, surely they only mean well. ...Right?

FLUX ET REFLUX - Yes. Yes, of course - I just want you to escape. That's all.

ENCYCLOPEDIA - You don't think you've had a train of thought with this name in your head at any point in your life you can remember -- which, to be fair, isn't that long at all.

VOLITION - How many more voices are you going to *get*, I swear...

VOICE OF THE COLD - They seem familiar, though.

1. [Flux et Reflux - Medium 10] They *do* seem familiar... is this one new?
2. New or not, who cares -- now's not the time, there's more important business to get to like 'escaping these chains' and 'finding the Princess'. (Discard thought.)

YOU - They *do* seem familiar... is this one new?

+1 Familiar?

-10 ...

CHECK FAILURE

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Failure] - ...No. Nothing's out of place here. You must be mistaken.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Should we really be trusting them to answer the question themselves, though? No offense intended, just - I wouldn't trust me to do that, that's for sure. Maybe we should get mister 'royal advisor' here to take a look?

DRAMA - That simply isn't how it works, Silvertongue. Lies to the self are *very* different than lies to the world.

VOICE OF THE HERO - The voice is... feminine, though? And no one else's in here is -

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - Are you saying a woman can't be a disembodied voice? That's not very progressive of you, kid --

VOLITION [Challenging: Success] - God, please stop. You *are* a feminist Harry, you have the stack of literature on your bedside table to prove it, but we don't need the Inexplicable Feminist Agenda slotted into the cabinet right now -- we don't have time.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - You *know* that's not what I meant when I told you to get some books full of women, right?

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - And another thing - have you guys been rolling dice? Is that what's happening? We're being put in harrowing life-or-death situations and you fucks feel like leaving it up to a dice roll? What is wrong with you people?

VOICE OF THE HERO - Is that what that noise is? I didn't want to say anything about it, thought it might be rude to mention.

1. No, of course not! That'd be ridiculous -- I mean come on, it sounds pretty silly doesn't it?
2. I think it sounds more like tape being spooled, honestly.
3. Wait, you're *rolling dice*? Is that what these checks are? I always thought it was some kind of abstraction of the concept of adversity or something -- what the *fuck*?!

YOU - Wait, you're *rolling dice*? Is that what these checks are? I always thought it was some kind of abstraction of the concept of adversity or something -- what the *fuck*?!

DRAMA [Legendary: Success] - No, sire. We've done no such thing.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Didn't you just say -

VOLITION [Formidable: Success] - *Enough* already, calm down. It's not *literally* a dice roll, it's just the way the world works. You know this well enough by now -- things aren't always fair.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - It's not the way the world works, sure, but the world hasn't been doing a whole lot of 'working right' recently, has it? Maybe it's about time you finally dropped that habit and stopped making us deal with random chance every time we want to do something with any level of difficulty.

VOLITION - ...Could you? Is it possible?

Thought gained: Flagrant Disregard of Reality

FLAGRANT DISREGARD OF REALITY

Hey, you remember that one door in the old bunker out on the coast of Martinaise? That one you couldn't open? Wasn't that just *bullshit*? Yeah, sure, it was some kind of 'life lesson' about how you can't solve every problem and how some things will always be out of reach -- but it was also *bullshit*. And, and -- remember when you got shot? And that time you almost got hit by a bus, and the other time when you fumbled the key to your apartment down a sewer grate? And when you kissed that princess that was some kind of pale-induced manifestation of your ex? (If you don't remember that one, stop reading this and come back later when you do.) *And* the thing just now with the expanding hallway with, like, eleven dice rolls in a row? Time and time again you're faced with insurmountable odds, a stacked deck and a rigged game -- if the world is allowed to pull this bullshit on you, why can't you pull some of your own right back?

Temporary research bonus:
-3 Logic: Everything's bullshit

Research time: ?????

LOGIC [Medium: Failure] - Oh for *fuck's* sake, like things weren't already hard enough for me as it is.

VOICE OF THE COLD - You'll get over it.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Trivial: Success] - This is really just what it's like all the time, huh. It's so... chaotic.

INLAND EMPIRE [Impossible: Success] - Like you're one to talk.

FLUX ET REFLUX - What?

RHETORIC [Challenging: Success] - No, Dreamy's got a point -- new or not, etymologically this one likely has something to do with chaos or change. Can't you tell from the name?

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Just what we need, more chaos! Let's just get out of this damn basement before any more bullshit comes our way.

THE NARRATOR - Yes, yes that's right - if you're here and the Princess isn't, she's probably just upstairs. You'll have to go up there and slay her before it's too late.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - But, on the other hand - screw this guy! He cheated us bad, had to break the rules just to put us down. Maybe we should just sit here forever instead - maybe that's how we finally win.

THE NARRATOR - If another version of me was forced to do something that drastic, you probably had it coming - from the sound of it, you were... helping the Princess? Is that right? If you've been here before and you've met her already, you should also know that freeing her ends the world - so why would you do that? You may have doomed countless other worlds to destruction, but you still have a chance to save this one by finally getting back on track, finding the Princess, and slaying her once and for all.

New task: Find the Princess

Task updated: Slay the Princess (yet again)

VOICE OF THE COLD - You've told us this many, many times. It's not working. You might as well not bother.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Well, I'm not fully sold on just sitting here - but there could be something to it, who knows.

VOICE OF THE HERO - We can't sit here forever, though. What about the Princess? What about us?

ENDURANCE [Easy: Success] - You would die in a couple days from dehydration. Though you *should* still have the flask, all that'd do is prolong the end if you really just never escaped.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Challenging: Success] - You're already getting bored. There's no new stimulus here, no new sensations -- come on, get a move on! Get out there and find something new to sink your teeth into.

1. [Examine the chains.]
2. [Look around.]
3. "Hello? Any princesses around here, by chance?"
4. Well, shit. I'm out of ideas.

YOU - [Look around.]

FLUX ET REFLUX [Challenging: Success] - This basement's almost exactly the same as it was the very first time, when you killed... her. Killed her. You notice some differences, though: The pattern of the stones set into the floor are different - no longer random but arranged into... rays? Like they're fanning out from where you're sitting. The light from outside is brighter too - but it isn't daytime. Why is that?

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Challenging: Success] - It's the light of the moon -- not nearly strong enough to be full, but possibly first quarter or so. The moon's not directly visible through this window, though.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - It illuminates the halogen watermarks sewn onto your blazer. Twin rectangles of white, one on each shoulder, that you know from experience contain the texture of home just beneath the surface -- a symbol of your fraternity.

VOLITION [Heroic: Success] - They'll find you, Harry. Or maybe you'll find them -- either way. You'll make it out of here, no matter how many times you have to die.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...You will. I promise.

Task updated: Return home

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - We'd better. I've had just about enough of dying, don't know about the rest of you.

VOICE OF THE COLD - It's nothing special, really. We didn't even feel anything this time when we died - we're getting used to it.

VOICE OF THE HERO - I'd rather not feel it if we're going to keep dying, but... surely we should be?

PAIN THRESHOLD - You should.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Might as well make the most of it then, while we can.

1. [Examine the chains.]
2. [Look around.]
3. "Hello? Any princesses around here, by chance?"
4. Well, shit. I'm out of ideas.

YOU - "Hello? Any princesses around here, by chance?"

THE NARRATOR - You are greeted with only silence. If the Princess is here, she's likely not going to be responding to your shouts - you're here to end her, why would she?

VOICE OF THE HERO - No, we're here to save her. We had almost made it out when you decided to kill us both - why would we go along with what you say now?

THE NARRATOR - Because, regardless of any kind of grudge or antagonistic relationship you may have developed with an alternate me, you're still here, which means you still have a job to do.

LOGIC [Medium: Failure] - ...Could that be true? Could slaying her be the key to escape?

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - No, can't be - that's what we did the first time and it didn't work, we just got stuck.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - ...But maybe it will be different this time. Or maybe you should just leave - have you tried that yet?

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - ...No. No, we haven't tried that actually - maybe that's it! We just have to clean our hands of this whole situation and go. It's worth a shot, yeah?

VOICE OF THE HERO - But - but surely we can't just leave...

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - She'd still be trapped here if you did, wherever she is.

AUTHORITY [Challenging: Success] - This prison is absolute. She would never escape.

THE NARRATOR - I wouldn't be so sure about that, authoritative one. If you leave her here, she'd have all the time in the world to escape - her very existence is a threat to reality, she can't be allowed to try. You have to slay her.

VOICE OF THE COLD - We've tried slaying her and we've tried freeing her - neither outcome led to escape. There is a world beyond these walls that still holds possibility - we could leave.

VOLITION - ...It's up to you, Harry. You've been through enough already, there would be no shame in leaving now.

1. I'm just going to sit here until something else happens. It might be boring, but it's also safe.
2. I'm going to find her and I'm going to slay her -- I've had doubts, but...
3. ...I can't do this anymore. It's too much. I need to leave.
4. She's still trapped. I can't leave her behind -- she must be around here *somewhere*.

YOU - She's still trapped. I can't leave her behind -- she must be around here *somewhere*.

Task updated: Save the Princess

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - If your mind's made up, then there's only one thing for it - we have to slip these chains and get looking.

THE NARRATOR - Even ignoring the sheer recklessness of your plan, one thing is true - you do need to 'slip those chains' so you can catch up with the Princess. She can't have left the cabin or the world would've already ended.

1. [Examine the chains.]
2. [Look around.]
3. "Hello? Any princesses around here, by chance?"
4. Well, shit. I'm out of ideas.

YOU - Well, shit. I'm out of ideas.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Brute. Force. Rip this chain from the wall, it's nothing to you.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Hm, I do like the sound of something being nothing to us - a nice change of pace...

INTERFACING [Challenging: Success] - You could try to pick the lock -- but do you have anything on you to use as a lockpick?

SAVOIR FAIRE [Challenging: Success] - If you dislocate your thumb, you *might* be able to slip your hand out of the shackle -- you've both seen and employed this trick before, but usually on handcuffs, not thick shackles like this.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Maybe the key is here somewhere? Under a loose stone?

THE NARRATOR - Why would whoever locked her down here keep the key within reach of where she'd be chained up? No, the key isn't here.

INLAND EMPIRE [Godly: Success] - Astral projection. Manifest yourself a metre or two forward from your current position -- the chain won't follow, it doesn't possess a conscious soulform.

LOGIC [Medium: Failure] - Sure, why not.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Formidable: Success] - You could bite your arm off. That would get you out of the shackle for sure!

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - What? No, you're not gnawing off your arm. What kind of idea is that?

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...A good one? I don't see how it's any stranger than the other ideas you're all coming up with.

ENDURANCE [Medium: Success] - You'd lose a *lot* of blood if you did that, even if you were able to tie off a tourniquet with only one hand.

VOICE OF THE COLD - It wouldn't hurt.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - I'd rather us not lose a hand if we don't have to - really limits our future options with regards to two-handed plans.

HALF LIGHT [Challenging: Success] - If that's what it takes to survive, then you *would*.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Easy: Success] - Please don't. I'm giving it my all to make sure you're able to keep fine motor control, don't cut off half of my workload on a whim.

VOLITION [Formidable: Success] - ...You'd do it if that was the only option left -- but it's not. Try everything else first before committing to something that severe.

1. [Physical Instrument - Godly 16] Tug on the chain until it breaks.
2. [Interfacing - Heroic 15] Rifle through your belongings for something to pick the lock with.
3. [Savoir Faire - Legendary 14] Dislocate your thumb and slip out of the shackle.
4. [Perception (Sight) - Impossible 18] Look around in the basement for the key.
5. [Inland Empire - Impossible 20] Astral project out of your bindings.
6. [Flux et Reflux - Easy 8] [Gnaw off your arm.]
7. Anyone have any *other* ideas that aren't these ones? Anything at all?

YOU - Tug on the chain until it breaks.

+5 Cheated

+5 Cold

+5 Opportunist

+1 It's different than before. Maybe there is a flaw?

-10 Hilariously bulky

CHECK SUCCESS

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Godly: Success] - You wrap the chain in your grip and repeatedly pull away from the wall until it becomes taut, again and again, the creaking of metal becoming more pronounced each time. Until, finally--

THE NARRATOR - The chain breaks from the shackle under the strain of your assault. There must have been a crack somewhere in the binding that you missed earlier - you're free now, free to pursue the Princess and finish the task laid before you.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - See? What'd I tell you -- very first try.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Oh ho ho, now we're getting somewhere.

INTERFACING - But you're *sure* you didn't miss anything...

SAVOIR FAIRE [Easy: Success] - The shackle's still around you wrist, but that doesn't mean much. In fact, this could be seen a fashion statement of some kind -- decorative shackles, now there's an idea...

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - File it away for later, that's a good one - but right now we should go.

FLUX ET REFLUX - I guess you didn't need to gnaw off your arm to escape. Huh. Who would've thought?

1. Well, time to go. I hope the room upstairs isn't too monstrously long this time. [Leave the basement.]

YOU - Well, time to go. I hope the room upstairs isn't too monstrously long this time. [Leave the basement.]

THE NARRATOR - Collecting yourself, you quickly stand up from the floor and make your way across the length of the basement to the stairwell leading up to the ground floor.

ENDURANCE [Medium: Success] - You feel a bit lightheaded as you stand, but it passes quickly.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Easy: Success] - Oh man, it's *nice* to be able to walk a straight line without a bunch of supranatural bullshit being piled on top. No offense to the lady -- it was probably more His fault than hers.

VOICE OF THE COLD - She can't be offended - she's not here.

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - But it's rude to talk about someone behind their back, anyhow.

VOICE OF THE HERO - I hope she's alright, wherever she ended up.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - I'm sure she's fine, for once. ...No need to worry about her.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - There's no 'need' -- but that's not what worrying is *about*.

THE NARRATOR - You ascend the stairs slowly, one at a time, as if worried they may collapse under your weight.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Oh you better not -

SAVOIR FAIRE - That's not the reason. Didn't you notice? The third step didn't creak.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Trivial: Success] - The third one from the *bottom* didn't, but the third one from the top *does* as you pass it by.

VOICE OF THE HERO - You think it means something?

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Formidable: Success] - A reversal. Instead of travelling inward, you now head outward, out into the world.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - This is actually going to be easy for once isn't it? Finally.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Don't go and jinx it now, we're not done yet.

THE NARRATOR - You complete your climb of the stairs without issue, arriving at the door leading to the rest of the cabin. You may want to have a plan before opening it - this is the only other place the Princess could be.

VOICE OF THE HERO - We don't need a plan if we're still not slaying her. We can come up with something together about getting out of here once we meet back up.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - We don't know what's actually on the other side of the door though - what if He's just going to screw us over again?

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - It could be something different. It's changed before, it could change again. Another obstacle to escaping, maybe?

VOICE OF THE COLD - A distinct possibility. If He's going to keep barring our escape, maybe we should be slaying Him instead.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - No way, He wouldn't screw us over now! We're on the same page, right? Right?

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - You *know* what He wants already -- it's on you to decide whether you're in agreement.

THE NARRATOR - If your goal is 'continued existence' and 'the world not ending', then yes, I do believe we're on the same page.

1. [Open the door.]
2. [Inland Empire - Godly 16] What *is* on the other side of the door?

YOU - What *is* on the other side of the door?

+1 Something different than last time.

+1 A gift

CHECK SUCCESS

INLAND EMPIRE [Godly: Success] - Home.

INLAND EMPIRE - Or at least something close.

THE NARRATOR - No, it's not 'home'. It's just an empty room, the antechamber of the cabin, containing only a plain wooden table with a pristine blade laid atop it. The Princess should be there as well, if she hasn't made a move to escape in the time you've wasted contemplating this question.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Easy: Success] - It would be nice if it was home, but even if it isn't - it's probably not what He's saying it is either.

1. [Open the door.]

YOU - [Open the door.]

THE NARRATOR - You open the door out of the basement, stepping through into...

THE NARRATOR - ...where is this?

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - Somewhere familiar.

THE NARRATOR - You are standing in... a church. An old church, evidence of decay present in every nook and cranny - the beams creak with a distant breeze, pews off to one side lie scattered in disarray, and the large stained glass window of a woman with glowing lungs dominating the wall to your left has been partially shattered - a large hole letting in snow and freezing wind. The only other things of note are a variety of different machines lying near the damaged window, one of which has a pristine blade perched on its edge.

THE NARRATOR - ...The blade is your implement. You'll need it if you want to do this right.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - This is the same church from your memories. But it's not identical - the window wasn't shattered then, there were a couple different pieces of furniture spread out in the corners, and... there's no people. No one else is here.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Trivial: Success] - You've walked in the front door. You've seen this interior from this exact angle a dozen times by now.

INTERFACING [Medium: Success] - But it hasn't looked like *this* for a while. That window's long since been repaired -- disparate shards glued roughly together on a few planks of wood and splattered with paint, some kind of artistic statement...

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Formidable: Success] - A commentary about how mortal hands can reconstruct the image of something left to fade away -- god, Innocence, or otherwise. That existing concepts can be reinterpreted in new ways even using the same pieces.

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - It was also just to keep the cold out. It's near freezing in here now.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - All signs of life are gone. It's as it was when you first found it -- but lonelier still. There is no programmer, no ravers, no devotee. The human touch removed from the equation.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Have we made it out, then? This has to be outside the cabin, right?

THE NARRATOR - ...No. If the Princess is here, somewhere, then this can't be outside the cabin, even if it looks to be that way.

SHIVERS [Trivial: Success] - The winds here are still foreign. You aren't home, not yet.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Of course not, it can't ever be that simple can it?

RHETORIC [Formidable: Success] - 'The large stained glass window of a woman with glowing lungs' -- why did He give a description instead of using her name? Does He not know who this is?

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Trivial: Success] - It's --

REACTION SPEED [Formidable: Success] - No, don't even *think* the name. Let *Him* answer.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Easy: Success] - Have you tried asking Him questions before? If you haven't, I think you should. I feel like He might have more answers than He's letting on, don't you?

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Oh He most certainly does, keeping secrets and being vague is pretty much all He has going on! We should put the heat on Him.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - You know what, yeah, we should! I think He has it coming.

VOICE OF THE COLD - What He knows is of no importance to us. We can escape without His help.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Medium: Success] - But you *should* put the squeeze on Him. You can't physically give Him a beatdown, this is the next best thing.

THE NARRATOR - Oh, is this an interrogation now?

VOICE OF THE HERO - No, It's a questioning.

New task: Question the Narrator

RHETORIC - You have no idea how proud I am right now.

THE NARRATOR - I don't have to go along with this. You have something vastly more important to do and not much time to get it done.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Who says we can't do both?

1. You're no fun, you know that? Also, you've both trapped and *killed* me before, so, you know -- fuck you.
2. [Suggestion - Impossible 18] How do I get him to play along?
3. I don't want to talk to Him any more than strictly required. Screw 'em. (Discard thought.)

YOU - How do I get Him to play along?

+5 Cheated

+5 Opportunist

+2 Do both

+1 He's got to know something, right?

0 Cold

CHECK SUCCESS

SUGGESTION [Impossible: Success] - You know the thing He keeps spouting like a broken record, 'slay the Princess'? Use *that*. Despite what happened last time, He must need you for *something* -- otherwise He'd just kill her without you being involved at all. You've pretty much already done this the very first time when you negotiated for that contract. If He thinks this is the only thing that will get you to more forward, He'll acquiesce.

THE NARRATOR - ...You wouldn't.

1. I *would*. You're going to give me some answers to my questions or I'm going to park myself right here and not budge an inch. It'd be pretty bad for you if the Princess got away while I was just idling here, wouldn't it?

YOU - I *would*. You're going to give me some answers to my questions or I'm going to park myself right here and not budge an inch. It'd be pretty bad for you if the Princess got away while I was just idling here, wouldn't it?

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - See, sitting still was the answer! We hadn't tried it yet, now look at us go!

THE NARRATOR - It would be 'pretty bad' for you too, considering you're part of the world and all. Unless you're prefer annihilation, hm?

1. You're *vastly* overestimating my self-preservation instinct here, bucko. [Go find somewhere to sit down.]

YOU - You're *vastly* overestimating my self-preservation instinct here, bucko. [Go find somewhere to sit down.]

THE NARRATOR - ...You really are that suicidal, aren't you?

VOLITION - There are good and bad days. *You* definitely haven't helped make this a good day, you know that?

VOICE OF THE HERO - If it's even still the same day anymore.

VOICE OF THE COLD - The sun hasn't risen. Not that we've ever seen it rise to begin with - the assumption that it will is unfounded.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Easy: Success] - The lighting here is the same as it was in the basement. The only difference is the presence of... fog? It might be fog. You can't see very far out of the break in the big window over there.

THE NARRATOR - Sigh, alright. Fine. Fine. I suppose if it will keep you on-track as to preventing reality's ruin, I can answer a few questions for you. But make it quick.

1. First thing's first, then -- do you know who this is? [Gesture to the stained glass window.]
2. Who *are* you? The rest of these voices all seem like parts of me to varying degrees, but *you* definitely don't.
3. How is this Princess supposed to end the world anyway? I've *killed* her before, and even working together we weren't able to escape. How can someone like that possibly destroy everything?
4. Tell me a fun fact about yourself.
5. She said you were 'barely even there' and 'kind of like her'. Do you know what she meant by that?
6. ...Do you know how I could get home? You didn't let me leave, before, even when I did what you asked.

YOU - First thing's first, then -- do you know who this is? [Gesture to the stained glass window.]

THE NARRATOR - Well, considering you're currently standing in a church - this is likely some kind of local deity or prophet. Perhaps a priestess?

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - He's guessing -- He really doesn't know.

DRAMA [Easy: Success] - His ignorance is genuine.

VOICE OF THE HERO - For what it's worth, I don't know who this is either. Are lungs supposed to glow like that, or is it just some kind of art piece?

HALF LIGHT [Challenging: Success] - Some questions can't be unanswered. You don't want to know any more about her if you can help it -- it will bring only ruin.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Trivial: Success] - You doubt there's a single person alive in the known world who has not at least heard of this woman in passing -- Her Innocence Dolores Dei. Even *you* remembered her after obliterating almost every other memory you had.

PAIN THRESHOLD - For all the wrong reasons, but still.

LOGIC [Medium: Failure] - If He doesn't know her, then...

SHIVERS [Godly: Success] - We are not of your world.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Anything else we don't know about then? If this is an entirely different world, does it even matter if we slay her or not? It's not like us dying has stuck so far, maybe this is all just a bunch of rubbish and we're being toyed with.

THE NARRATOR - 'This world' is just the beginning in this scenario - everything is at risk if you don't stop her. Do you think the trail of destruction will cease after just one? Have you somehow been convinced that you get infinite chances to make this right? Because if so, you're sorely mistaken - you don't. That you're back again after having died at least once before is irrelevant, because every time you fail to slay her, her influence grows just a bit more. The current surroundings should be proof enough of that. Eventually it will be too much to contain, and then - and then, well. It's over.

THE NARRATOR - So it would do you well to treat each and every opportunity like it's the last one you'll ever get - because it very well may be.

Task updated: Find out where you are

Task updated: What is He?

Task updated: What is she?

Task updated: Where do the voices come from?

INLAND EMPIRE [Legendary: Success] - A twinge of regret passes through you -- regret that someone else wasn't here with you to hear these revelations.

THE NARRATOR - I've answered your question, now will you please keep moving? There's no time to spare.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - 'Questioning' implies more than one, you know that right? Don't think you can weasel your way out of this -

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - Let it be. You can push Him some more while you're making you way forward -- this isn't the last stop.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - She's not here. You can't see her and there's nowhere in here that would offer a large enough hiding spot to go unnoticed. You'll have to keep going.

VOICE OF THE HERO - But how? We just came in the only door, and that one opens back to the basement stairs.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Easy: Success] - You could walk out through that break in the glass. It has to lead somewhere, anywhere would be better than going back to the basement.

1. [Approach the broken window.]
2. Getting farther away from things that make sense seems like a *bad* idea, I'm heading back. [Return to the basement.]
3. [Look around.]

YOU - [Look around.]

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - It's the pinewood church, on the shore of Martinaise.

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...Yes, but what does it look like?

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Impossible: Failure] - ...Like the church.

INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - The details swim away from you into the dark whenever you focus on any particular spot.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Legendary: Success] - But you remember what they *should* be, and so it holds together anyway. A fading memory.

1. But why this? Why now?

YOU - But why this? Why now?

LOGIC [Impossible: Failure] - You can either question it and have a breakdown or you can accept it at face value and keep going. There's no in-between here.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - We have to get out of here before things go sideways, not after! There isn't any time to have a goddamn breakdown, as much as I'd like to.

1. [Approach the broken window.]
2. Getting farther away from things that make sense seems like a *bad* idea, I'm heading back. [Return to the basement.]
3. [Look around.]

YOU - [Approach the broken window.]

THE NARRATOR - You draw closer to the larger-than-life glass portrait of this 'Dolores Dei'. If she's an important figure in your world, perhaps the presence of such a display is reassuring -

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - NO.

VOLITION [Godly: Failure] - You've started to separate the images of Dora and Dei in your mind -- but you jammed them together pretty thoroughly in your past life. You still don't like standing in this spot whenever you come here.

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - Always, always the faintest compulsion to kneel. But you won't.

AUTHORITY [Formidable: Success] - Not to either of them. They don't deserve your fealty.

VOICE OF THE COLD - A broken pane of glass won't intimidate us.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - You'd rather be stuck into the crowd, letting yourself melt away into the strobes and the beats.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Trivial: Success] - But there aren't any crowds here. Where did they go?

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Up and disappeared just like the mirror did last time. I hate it here.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Isn't that the same mirror right over there?

1. Where? [Look around some more.]

YOU - Where? [Look around some more.]

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Formidable: Failure] - You don't see a mirror anywhere.

THE NARRATOR - Because there isn't one. There are a few vaguely reflective surfaces present in the shards of glass on the floor and the components of these machines, but there's not a mirror.

INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - 'These machines' consist of a radiocomputer and a variety of sound mixing equipment and speakers, by the way. You've seen these exact pieces of machinery plenty of times, in exactly this setup. The knife is lying on top of the mixing board, the point slightly depressing the main power switch.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Godly: Failure] - There's nothing but the faintest crackling of static -- and silence.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Not over here, back there - by those... bowls of water? Right in the middle. Can you really not see it?

1. I don't see a mirror.
2. I don't see a mirror. Is this it, then? Have I finally lost it? First the hallway, then this church, now this...

YOU - I don't see a mirror. Is this it, then? Have I finally lost it? First the hallway, then this church, now this...

LOGIC - I told you not to question it, didn't I?

VOICE OF THE HERO - No. Whatever's going on here, it's not with you. It must be the mirror - or maybe Him?

VOICE OF THE COLD - It doesn't matter if you can't see it. It's been of no use to us anyway.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Aw, don't feel bad. We've been tricked with the mirror, you've been tricked with the mirror - we're even now!

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - It is a leg up we finally have over Him...

THE NARRATOR - If these ones are having a shared delusion about a nonexistent mirror, that's only proof you shouldn't be listening to them. You have you task, see it through.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Godly: Success] - ...You don't see a mirror. But, they do see a mirror. And I...

VOICE OF THE HERO - You're with Harry, right? Do you see it then?

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...No, I don't see anything. How could I, right? I'm not the one supposed to be seeing things, that's this one.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - Mostly true, but not always.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Legendary: Success] - There are ways to see without sight. To visualize without visuals. Just because something is unperceivable doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] - What cannot be observed can be deduced -- through calculation or inference.

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - Or another method.

THE NARRATOR - And yet none of this rambling will change the facts. There isn't a mirror, and any more time you spend hypothesizing on the existence of something that isn't real will only serve to delay you moving on.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Challenging: Success] - You've seen it before, and it 'tricked' you? Maybe you should... I don't know, throw the knife at it? That'd be something different than just trying to look at it.

1. It's not worth my time. Let's just go.
2. [Approach the 'mirror'.]
3. [Flux et Reflux - Godly 16] Throw the knife at the spot the mirror should occupy.

YOU - Throw the knife at the spot the mirror should occupy.

+5 Cheated

+5 Opportunist

+1 Oh, you picked my idea? Nice.

0 Cold

-5 There is no mirror?

CHECK SUCCESS

FLUX ET REFLUX [Godly: Success] - You pick up the blade from the... mixing board? Test its weight in your grip, then hurl it point side forward at the center of the ring of bowls. Not bad!

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Trivial: Success] - Shouldn't this be my job?

THE NARRATOR - The blade sails through the air, clattering to the floor at the far side of the church and sliding into the shadows. Congratulations, you've now very thoroughly proven to everyone there's nothing there.

VOICE OF THE HERO - The mirror disappeared right before the knife would've shattered it.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - I don't know what I was expecting, really.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Should probably walk over and get the blade though. It'd definitely be better to have it than to not. Gives us more options.

INLAND EMPIRE [Godly: Success] - You can't. It's gone to you now.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - What do you mean 'gone', there's nothing stopping us from walking over there and -

INLAND EMPIRE - No.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - But-

INLAND EMPIRE - Nope. It's gone.

VOICE OF THE COLD - Enough with the arguing already. We need to keep going.

1. Onward, then. [Leave through the hole in the stained glass window.]

YOU - Onward, then. [Leave through the hole in the stained glass window.]

THE NARRATOR - You continue your trek through the massive hole present in this side of the church, taking care to avoid the jagged glass edges and the worst of the mounting snow.

SAVOIR FAIRE - Not *that* much care. This hole is much larger than you are.

COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - Tension releases from your shoulders as you pass over the threshold. You did something terrible in this church a long time ago, something you still can't remember -- a police raid of some kind -- but it was bad enough that you still feel uneasy when you're alone with your thoughts here.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - All relevant case documentation on this matter was sealed, even to you. No amount of cajoling or inquiring has changed this fact, despite your efforts.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - You've asked Jean and even he's refused to talk about it. For your sake and for his.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - Whatever it was, it *happened* -- but you can't change that now, and you'll likely never find out exactly what transpired. You don't need to worry over it so strongly anymore if there's nothing else you can do about it.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - It couldn't have been that bad, surely. You seem like a pretty decent guy, what's the worst you could possibly do?

LOGIC [Trivial: Success] - Murder a woman in cold blood for a paycheck.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - ...Present circumstances notwithstanding - you didn't let me finish!

VOICE OF THE HERO - You're just doing your best, Harry. It's not our fault this entire world's gone mad, apparently.

HALF LIGHT [Challenging: Success] - You've inflicted *plenty* of suffering in your time even before you got here. More than could be carried over into the next life. More than you can fathom, even now.

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - How convenient it was that a sudden bout of acute amnesia arrived to wipe the slate clean in time for the next act...

PAIN THRESHOLD - For *you*, maybe. There's likely still people out there dealing with the fallout of your years-long string of bad decisions.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Formidable: Success] - ...But you've changed. Haven't you? You aren't the same person anymore. Every minute you're still alive, you're just a little bit farther away from what you used to be. Maybe you can't fully make up for past mistakes, but that doesn't mean you have to give up on your own future. You have to keep going.

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - Advice more than one person here could benefit from.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Dunno what he's talking about, but the only mistake we've made so far is letting our guard down when He was itching to take us down a few notches. Why are we going along with Him now, I just know this is going to end with some new flavor of unfairness.

THE NARRATOR - I don't need your trust, only your cooperation for both our sakes - along with everyone else out there in the world.

VOICE OF THE COLD - We've only seen other people in memories. This world is different than the one those came from - anyone 'here' may not exist at all.

VOICE OF THE HERO - But we can't prove it either way, so we may as well see where this path takes us. It's not as if we have anywhere else to go besides back to the basement, we already know the Princess isn't there.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - You can't see any further than the ends of your arms in fog this dense.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - You can tell you're moving forward, though. The shape and the give of the ground beneath your feet changes with each step, transitioning from sand and earth to something more solid. You're still making progress, don't worry.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Easy: Success] - You won't trip.

THE NARRATOR - Impossibly dense fog eventually gives way to a thin mist, coalescing into the appearance of another space. An... office, of some kind. A dozen desks arranged in neat rows and columns in the center of a large room, bland walls and generic decorations giving way to industrial-looking rafters and catwalks far above.

VOICE OF THE HERO - What a strange combination... where do you think we are now?

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Trivial: Success] - Precinct 41, C-Wing. Your second home.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - You remembered this place before you remembered your own address. This is your *first* home, now.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Trivial: Success] - ...It's empty here too. There should be other people around, right?

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Success] - The schedules of all four wings put together stagger in such a way that at least a few officers are on duty at all times, even late into the night. The last time this building was completely empty was over a decade ago during the Villalobos Fires.

VOICE OF THE COLD - Seems like there's a trend. He must be taking them away.

THE NARRATOR - I'm not 'taking away' anything. I have no control over these spaces, I'm merely describing what it is you're seeing with as much accuracy as possible.

DRAMA [Formidable: Success] - Not only does He still speak truth -- He has not lied once that you can remember in all the time you've been here, sire. The worst He's managed is misdirection and half-truths, but never an outright lie. Is it borne a sense of honor, or is He merely that intimidated by your astonishingly high capacity to sniff out deception?

VOICE OF THE HERO - Don't go tooting your own horn too much now, we've still been unsure before.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Hey now, I think a little bit of horn-tooting is warranted. He's done a great job, hasn't he?

RHETORIC [Challenging: Success] - He said 'these spaces' -- given what happened when you last died, this distinction seems important.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - It doesn't matter if He's telling the truth if He still goes and tries to kill us in the same breath!

THE NARRATOR - I haven't lied to you because, despite it all, I trust you to come to the only reasonable conclusion given the facts presented to you.

AUTHORITY [Challenging: Success] - He presents this as a measure of respect, when in reality He's unwilling to entertain the idea you may think differently than Him -- or that if you do, you're simply 'mistaken'. Pah, enough -- go now to your throne, He has no control over you here.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Throne?

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Your desk is the last one on the opposite corner. You remember it by heart.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - Next to Kim's, across from Judit's.

AUTHORITY - You had your own office once, one of the doors on the far wall bearing a plaque with your name and rank.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - But you gave it up, voluntarily. There were too many bad memories in there for you to get any work done anyway.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Challenging: Success] - It was reassigned to Lieutenant Jean Vicquemare in your absence. He doesn't use it either.

1. [Sit down at your desk.]
2. *Definitely* don't have time for this. (Discard thought.)

YOU - [Sit down at your desk.]

THE NARRATOR - Flippantly shrugging off your responsibilities for the time being, you meander through the cluster of desks and seat yourself at the only one notably different than the rest.

VOICE OF THE COLD - She's likely just as trapped in this strange maze of rooms as we are. He can wait.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Trivial: Success] - Every other desk is clean, but this one is stacked tall with mountains of folders - what's all this?

ESPRIT DE CORPS - A backlog of paperwork -- everything you belligerently refused to file properly in the months leading up to your 'medical episode'.

ENDURANCE [Medium: Success] - This is all you were able to handle while you were still recovering in the aftermath. You spent a couple weeks glued to this desk, spinning around in this little chair and bumping your shins on unexpected corners in-between hours and hours of mind-numbing busywork.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - You've tried to make it right, but *god* this stuff is a bore. Be glad this is some kind of memory-apparition and not real -- you finished off the very last stack a mere five days ago.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - There must be something we can use in here - we start rifling through the drawers!

REACTION SPEED [Impossible: Failure] - Hey, wait--!

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Legendary: Failure] - Fucker's hijacked your arms for the moment. Goddamn asshole...

THE NARRATOR - You start looking through the drawers of your desk, forcing them open one by one in search of something or other. What are you looking for? Who knows, but probably nothing that could help you here - you left behind the pristine blade, remember?

1. What the fuck, man? I mean I was probably going to do this anyway -- but the fuck?

YOU - What the fuck, man? I mean I was probably going to do this anyway -- but the fuck?

SAVOIR FAIRE [Medium: Success] - Cheaty here isn't really trying for anything malicious, just ride it out.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Look, be mad if you want, but we're going to need every advantage we can get if we want to break out of whatever kind of hellish cycle this is. Anyone see anything useful?

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Challenging: Success] - If all the goddamn paperwork is still here, there *should* be a fifth of whiskey tucked in the back on the bottom left --

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - Don't.

VOICE OF THE HERO - I don't think that would be very helpful anyway.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Anyone else have any ideas?

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Heroic: Failure] - ...It's not here either. Where the fuck is it, then?

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - Check the second drawer on the left, three folders down.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Alright, let's see... jackpo-

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Wait, no, this is just more paper. Do you think this is funny? How's this gonna help us?

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - These are the forms used to file missing persons reports. The Princess is still missing, ergo you should fill one out.

THE NARRATOR - Do you really, though? It's not as if there's anyone around to read it currently, and by the time you manage to get back to civilization the Princess will have already been dealt with.

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - Your arms are working as they should again. Guess he must've given up on looking.

1. It's protocol, I gotta. [Grab a form.]
2. Fair point, fair point. The less paperwork the better.

YOU - It's protocol, I gotta. [Grab a form.]

Item gained: Missing persons report (Blank)

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - But do you have to? Why not... try something else for a change? There's no need to commit to this.

VOICE OF THE HERO - If it's 'protocol' then we probably should. It'll help us keep track of things at the very least.

VOICE OF THE COLD - How many missing persons sit in the stack on the desk, I wonder. It must be dozens.

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - It's not *all* missing people -- some of them are murders, too.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Petty crimes -- theft, trespassing, minor drug related offenses -- make up the majority of the pile. Missing persons reports are fairly common while murders are rare.

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - 'Rare' still means 'five or six a year' and that's only those assigned to you personally.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - The world's starting to sound a bit shit, going to be honest.

THE NARRATOR - I can assure you it's not. The world is beautiful, you're just hung up on seeing one of the worst parts of it instead of saving it as you should be.

1. I agree with Him for once. The world's not all that bad.
2. [Say nothing.]

YOU - I agree with Him for once. The world's not all that bad.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - You remember the memories, don't you? So he only showed us the good bits, big whoop. It's only fair to put the best foot forward.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Considering how much killing has been going around so far, I think I'd still take that world over this one.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Enough chatter. Grab a pen from the desk and start committing to paper, detective.

1. [Grab a pen.]
2. I should still have some pens in one of these pockets, actually.

YOU - [Grab a pen.]

THE NARRATOR - ...You grab a pen from a neat row of them nestled in a divot between your desk and the next one over. Is this really what I'm being reduced to, describing stationery?

Item gained: ...Pen?

SAVOIR FAIRE - A cheap mass-produced little thing. Bought by the crateload from a surplus store -- nothing fancy, just business.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Free pens, might as well take 'em all.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Medium: Success] - This pen feels insubstantial in your hand -- like it would disappear if you loosened your grip.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Success] - Not really a pen, but the vague recollection of what these pens are like. You can't actually remember the specifics despite using them daily -- they're too mundane to be perfectly recalled.

INTERFACING [Medium: Success] - It will still write, though.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - First line: Case number. The alphanumeric, not the unofficial 'case title'.

LOGIC - HDB41-...

LOGIC - ...You don't know the current date. It's only felt like a couple hours tops, but how much time did you lose between when you arrived here and whenever you left the world?

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - Thirty-three days *minimum*...

VOICE OF THE COLD - If the sun can't rise, the days can't pass. Who's to say if time still flows at all?

FLUX ET REFLUX [Easy: Success] - Time is still ticking by, you wouldn't be able to do anything at all if it wasn't. Maybe it's looping back on itself though? There's no way to tell.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Skip it for now, we can fill it in later.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Second line: Name of missing person.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...Skip this one too.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Oh just put down 'Princess' and be done with it.

1. [Put down 'Princess'.]
2. [Leave it blank and go to the next line.]

YOU - [Leave it blank and go to the next line.]

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Third line: Visual description of missing person.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Easy: Success] - You remember what she looked like well enough to pen down a description here. Normally you'd include a sketch or a photograph as an attached document, but Kim's the one that carries the camera around between the two of you and you were never very good at facial composites.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Challenging: Success] - She could've changed in appearance since last you saw her, maybe.

VOICE OF THE HERO - What makes you say that?

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...Just a hunch.

1. [Put down a description of what she looked like when she was alive.]
2. [Put down a description of what she looked like as a ghost.]
3. [Hand/Eye Coordination - Godly 16] Attempt to sketch what you remember her looking like.
4. Another blank line, why not. [Leave it blank.]

YOU - Another blank line, why not. [Leave it blank.]

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Fourth line: Time and location missing person was last seen --

THE NARRATOR - If it wasn't clear by now, you don't have adequate answers for any of these fields - maybe you should give this attempt at policework a rest and get moving again?

VOICE OF THE HERO - Hate to agree with Him, but...

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - We can finish filling this out later when we get more information, no harm in that.

1. Fine, but I get another question before I go. [Tuck the paperwork away into one of your pockets.]
2. It was pointless anyway. [Crumple up the form and toss it in the wastebin.]
3. No no, I can get this -- I'm sure of it. [Keep going down the list.]

YOU - Fine, but I get another question before I go. [Tuck the paperwork away into one of your pockets.]

HAND/EYE COORDINATION - The pen ceases to exist as soon as you lay it down on the table.

Item lost: ...Pen?

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Give and take, give and take - makes perfect sense. We're definitely owed another question by now.

THE NARRATOR - ...If it means you stop getting side-tracked. Go on, then.

1. Who *are* you? The rest of these voices all seem like parts of me to varying degrees, but *you* definitely don't.
2. How is this Princess supposed to end the world anyway? I've *killed* her before, and even working together we weren't able to escape. How can someone like that possibly destroy everything?
3. Tell me a fun fact about yourself.
4. She said you were 'barely even there' and 'kind of like her'. Do you know what she meant by that?
5. ...Do you know how I could get home? You didn't let me leave, before, even when I did what you asked.

YOU - Who *are* you? The rest of these voices all seem like parts of me to varying degrees, but *you* definitely don't.

VOICE OF THE HERO - You know it's strange. That's what I think it feels like too, but there's also a... divide, of some kind. Like we aren't really supposed to fit in here I suppose.

VOICE OF THE COLD - But we're still here, aren't we? It doesn't matter what was supposed to be - all that matters is what is. This reality is inconsistent and ever-changing, but it's the only one we have.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - If I could up and leave, I would've done it by now, trust me.

THE NARRATOR - ...Well. I'm different than them, you're correct on that account. You can think of me as your guide, if it helps - I'm the one that's supposed to be keeping you on track to complete your task of slaying the Princess. That the situation's devolved, apparently, won't stop me from performing my duties in getting you to perform yours.

RHETORIC [Legendary: Success] - Don't these words feel familiar, somehow?

1. Yes, but *who* are you? Do you have a name? Are you just another voice in my head or something else?
2. [Let it go.]

YOU - Yes, but *who* are you? Do you have a name? Are you just another voice in my head or something else?

THE NARRATOR - You've gotten your one question out of me. You'll have to correct your detour and get back to looking before I'll answer another.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - But you didn't tell us anything! We already knew you were different and you definitely won't stop going on about this 'task'. Give us something else!

THE NARRATOR - That I'm humoring you at all should be taken as a gesture of goodwill.

COMPOSURE [Formidable: Success] - He's nervous about this subject. Either He thinks you won't like the answer or He doesn't want to dwell on it much longer.

THE NARRATOR - I'd rather we not dwell on anything given the stakes at hand.

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - Don't break His back over this. This information probably isn't relevant and it will cause Him to shut you out completely if you keep prying.

INLAND EMPIRE [Godly: Success] - *Everything* is relevant. A billion threads woven into the fabric of the end, lifetimes from now.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Godly: Success] - ...He'll never budge. He can't.

Task updated: What is He?

1. Alright, alright. Where to now? [Get up from the chair.]
2. [Authority - Impossible 20] Keep pressing him.

YOU - Alright, alright. Where to now? [Get up from the chair.]

VOICE OF THE HERO - That door on our right looks different than the others. Could that be the way forward?

ESPRIT DE CORPS - The door to the central stairwell, where one can descend to the archives and ascend to the auxiliary offices.

INTERFACING [Challenging: Success] - That one's made of reinforced metal instead of wood like the rest of these. In case of an emergency, the stairwell is the designated 'safe zone' for officers who can't reach the front or rear exits -- that door would hold up under extended assault for hours.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Success] - Ascension is a signifier of progress. Best to head upward.

HALF LIGHT [Challenging: Success] - You're already in hell. Might as well keep going down.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Formidable: Success] - Heading up before got you out of the basement, maybe it will work again?

1. [Leave through the stairwell and head upward.]
2. [Leave through the stairwell and head downward.]
3. There's gotta be a more clear path forward than this. [Look around.]
4. I keep getting further from reality, this isn't sustainable. I need to head back. [Leave through the door you arrived from.]

YOU - There's gotta be a more clear path forward than this. [Look around.]

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Impossible: Failure] - It's the precinct --

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Yeah, yeah, we get it by now. Why are we even trying?

ESPRIT DE CORPS - The floorplan of this space has been etched into your soul in halogen watermark. You know that there are three other rooms just like this out the doors to your front and left, a breakroom somewhere in the middle, the captain's office up high in the catwalks, evidence lockup down below next to the archives. A smoking area up on the roof, the dispatch desk connected to the garage, the lazareth by the main entrance, coffee corner tucked away on the side...

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - Fuzzy at the edges. Even as familiar as you are, the nerve-image can never compare to the actual.

VOICE OF THE COLD - There is no clear path, so any path we take is as valid as any other.

1. [Leave through the stairwell and head upward.]
2. [Leave through the stairwell and head downward.]
3. There's gotta be a more clear path forward than this. [Look around.]
4. [Try another door at random.]
5. I keep getting further from reality, this isn't sustainable. I need to head back. [Leave through the door you arrived from.]

YOU - [Leave through the stairwell and head upward.]

THE NARRATOR - Pushing open the heavy metal door, you make your way up flight after flight of stairs, the grating below your feet clanging with each step you take into the rapidly congealing mist.

LOGIC [Medium: Failure] - Should there be this many stairs?

ESPRIT DE CORPS - No.

VOICE OF THE HERO - This is what we saw when we left the church, so this has to be right.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Easy: Success] - It's a little different. It feels... colder.

PERCEPTION (TOUCH) [Easy: Success] - Somehow, it does. Colder than the wind and snow, however that's supposed to work.

THE NARRATOR - The brick and metal of the stairwell eventually gives way to wood and plaster as you continue to ascend. Doors begin to line each landing, each one marked with a number, until finally you reach one that's already open.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Trivial: Success] - Apartment 203, 17 Perdition street. This is where you live.

ENDURANCE [Easy: Success] - A *lot* more stairs than you're used to, though. You only live on the second floor, what kind of bullshit was that?

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Yes! Finally, someone else gets it.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Challenging: Success] - It's like a... transition. From one state to the next.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Legendary: Success] - Snippets of film reel spliced together, ragged edges concealed by a thin coating of oil.

1. ...Home. Even if it's only a memory. [Step inside.]

YOU - ...Home. Even if it's only a memory. [Step inside.]

THE NARRATOR - You step through into a, frankly, quite horrific living space. Detritus is sprawled across every available surface, the wallpaper is heavily stained with evidence of smoke, and an unsavory scent meets your nostrils emanating from the kitchenette. ...If the Princess lives here-

VOICE OF THE HERO - We get it, sheesh.

VOLITION [Challenging: Success] - It's not like this anymore. You spent three consecutive days clearing out this place, over thirty bags worth of garbage hauled off to the dump. You've turned it around, Harry, don't linger on what you're seeing now.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - You had help. A lot more help than you were expecting. Many hands made for light work.

ENDURANCE [Formidable: Success] - You've literally dealt with week-old corpse stench before -- this is *nothing*. You're fine.

FLUX ET REFLUX - You have?

VOICE OF THE COLD - Of course he has. The stack of files on his desk was proof enough of that. Killing isn't always so elegant a process.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Shouldn't you know that, if you came in with him?

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...Y-yes?

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - I told you something was up with this one. I bet this is yet another curveball that's going to get us killed at the end.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - I hope not. Not this time.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - We have to trust them, anyhow, no matter how much that hurts to say. We're all stuck in here together, aren't we? If it were different, maybe, but...

THE NARRATOR - If you can get your internal peanut gallery under control for a moment, it would behoove you to investigate the surroundings for the Princess. That's what you 'do' as a detective, isn't it?

1. I don't think this will really amount to much, but sure. [Look around.]

YOU - I don't think this will really amount to much, but sure. [Look around.]

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Impossible: Failure] - It's your apartment. ...You already know I don't have anything more for you.

INTERFACING [Medium: Success] - There's a junker radio you scavenged from a trash heap and repaired some years ago sitting on the windowsill. The higher frequencies are still a little staticky, but it's tolerable.

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - And that raggedy old couch where you spent long nights too out of it to stumble to your bed. You know just the right position to lay in to avoid all the loose springs.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - Surely there's something left in one of those empty bottles...

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - It's not as it should be. You said you've cleaned it up, right? And yet... it's still like this, an uninvited reminder of something that happened a while ago. There's probably no one outside on the street either, is there?

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Heroic: Success] - No. Only the haze of background feelings -- familiarity, longing, a desire for a return...

INLAND EMPIRE [Godly: Success] - She's not here.

VOICE OF THE HERO - You sure? We haven't even checked any of these doors -

INLAND EMPIRE - She's not anywhere else in this apartment. There is no room for the shape of her in a place like this, such as it is.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - I wouldn't want to stick around here either. This place is a dump!

VOICE OF THE COLD - It is.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Dump is a strong word, no need to insult the decisions guy here.

1. No, it's a dump.
2. No, it's a dump. It's not like this anymore, you can insult this old snapshot as much as you like.
3. Yeah, fuck you guys. I *live* here!

YOU - No, it's a dump. It's not like this anymore, you can insult this old snapshot as much as you like.

VOICE OF THE HERO - It's not anywhere I'd want to stay for long. Why was it like this?

VOLITION - The aftermath of a story far too long to tell right now.

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - He's been insisting that you're on a time limit -- how much do you have left?

THE NARRATOR - Not much time at all, as a matter of fact. You remain acutely aware of the precious seconds slipping away through the hourglass as you stand here to gawk at nothing.

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - You know what there *is* time for, though? Asking another question.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - He won't give you any straight answers. Try asking something strange, maybe that will knock something loose.

1. Who *are* you? The rest of these voices all seem like parts of me to varying degrees, but *you* definitely don't.
2. How is this Princess supposed to end the world anyway? I've *killed* her before, and even working together we weren't able to escape. How can someone like that possibly destroy everything?
3. Tell me a fun fact about yourself.
4. She said you were 'barely even there' and 'kind of like her'. Do you know what she meant by that?
5. ...Do you know how I could get home? You didn't let me leave, before, even when I did what you asked.

YOU - Tell me a fun fact about yourself.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - This is what we're gonna pick? ...Sure, alright, maybe this'll work - let's try.

THE NARRATOR - That's not even an actual question, it's just a demand -

AUTHORITY [Legendary: Success] - Answer it, *now*. We'll be here all day if you don't.

THE NARRATOR - ...

VOICE OF THE HERO - Well, go on. I think that's a perfectly valid thing to ask for, don't be shy.

THE NARRATOR - ...

VOICE OF THE COLD - We're waiting.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - I'm sure He's just thinking of the best way to express Himself, give Him a minute.

THE NARRATOR - ...Writing. I enjoyed... writing. Storytelling overall, really - but I was always the best at writing. To pen a word and have a thousand meanings attached, to capture a fragment of the world to preserve for all time...

THE NARRATOR - It was my calling. And I... I enjoyed it immensely.

EMPATHY [Legendary: Success] - A fellow reader of the world-tape. Every moment carefully committed to memory, preserved in amber and pencil lead, tape spools and inkblots, blood and tears...

THE NARRATOR - ...But there won't be anything left if you don't succeed here. No more stories, no more people - no more world. How much has already been lost to your past-life negligence? You have to slay her. You have to! There's no other way!

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - Finally the rage shines through, unfettered by inhibition.

RHETORIC [Legendary: Success] - He describes His writing as being in the past tense. If it was His 'calling', why did He stop?

Task updated: What is He?

THE NARRATOR - That's none of your concern. This isn't about me, this is about saving reality from imminent destruction. Do you understand now? How many different ways can I phrase this before you start to take it seriously?

VOICE OF THE HERO - We have been taking it seriously! We killed her the very first time - and you just trapped us in the cabin, forever!

SAVOIR FAIRE - Never got to cash out that voucher, buncha bullshit I tell you...

VOICE OF THE COLD - So we killed ourselves. And then we came back.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - And then, you know, we got to talking with the Princess - she came back as a ghost by the way, did you know that would happen? - and, well...

VOICE OF THE HERO - We decided to help her, because killing her didn't seem to have saved much of anything. It was violence for no reason at all.

RHETORIC - There *was* a reason --

VOLITION - It was just a terrible one. A lapse of judgement with consequences greater than you've ever caused before.

EMPATHY - You were crushed when you finally snapped out of whatever had gotten into you. That you were even given the opportunity to *try* to make up for it was a stroke of cosmic luck.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - And then right before we make it out - you pull one last piece of BULLSHIT on us! Would it really have been that bad if we could've just been done with this already!?

THE NARRATOR - Yes. It would. If you don't believe me about her capability to end the world, there's nothing more I can do. So go ahead - do whatever you'd like. Just don't call out for help when you commit to the last bad decision you'll ever make.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - ...This is a lot of trouble to go through for just one person. Why?

1. Because I don't know what else to do. I'm... lost.
2. Because it's the only way out, maybe. I've tried killing her and nothing good came of it.
3. Because I fucked up and I need to make it right. Forgiveness be damned -- *I* couldn't live with myself if I didn't.
4. Because it's the right thing to do. There's no proof she could end the world, no matter what this guy says. She's suffered enough.

YOU - Because it's the right thing to do. There's no proof she could end the world, no matter what this guy says. She's suffered enough.

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - As if you haven't also suffered. Do you still remember the feeling of your leg shattering like glass?

PAIN THRESHOLD - You don't. Which just makes it all the worse.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - But you started this, now you have to finish it. Find her.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Well apparently she's not here, so where else is there to look?

1. [Try the door to your room.]
2. [Try the door to the bathroom.]
3. There's nowhere else to go. Time to head back. [Exit and head back down the stairs.]

YOU - [Try the door to the bathroom.]

THE NARRATOR - You open the door, finding... I'm not even going to grace this with a description. Eugh.

VOICE OF THE HERO - It can't be that bad, surely?

ENDURANCE [Heroic: Failure] - It is.

VOICE OF THE COLD - A dead end. Try the other door, there may be something there.

1. [Try the door to your room.]
2. [Try the door to the bathroom.]
3. There's nowhere else to go. Time to head back. [Exit and head back down the stairs.]

YOU - [Try the door to your room.]

INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - It's locked.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - If it's locked, we must be going the right way - the path forward all this time has been littered with shit trying to slow us down.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Worth a look if they're both suggesting it. Leave no stone unturned and all.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - *Locked*? Doesn't matter, all you have to do is--

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - Kick the door down! You definitely haven't tried that before - go on, give it a kick!

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - ...Yeah. That. Do that.

INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - A name springs to mind.

1. [Try the door to your room.]
2. [Flux et Reflux - Impossible 20] Kick the door down!
3. [Try the door to the bathroom.]
4. There's nowhere else to go. Time to head back. [Exit and head back down the stairs.]

YOU - Kick the door down!

+5 Cheated

+5 Cold

+5 Opportunist

+3 Doorkickers Anonymous?

+1 Yeah! Kick that thing!

CHECK SUCCESS

FLUX ET REFLUX [Impossible: Success] - Your foot jams into the door right neat the knob - once, twice, three times-

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Hey, let me in on this shit! Coach *loves* kicking things.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - A fifth and then a sixth -- the material of the door is starting to splinter -- a seventh...

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Godly: Success] - A moment in time strains to adapt to something that never happened.

THE NARRATOR - After an excessive amount of violence, the door finally swings inward from the beating it's received. A wave of ice-cold water rushes toward you in its place, drenching you through and pushing you into the wall opposite the door.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - The hell is this!?

ENDURANCE - Fuck, I think you inhaled a little --

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - COLD. COLD, TOO COLD, FREEZING, DYING --

VOICE OF THE COLD - Yes, how cold. We need to push through, the path forward lies beyond. All we've seen so far is still images, all so dreadfully boring - maybe there's finally something new out there.

1. I can't go any farther. I'm sorry. [Make your way back out into the stairwell.]
2. [Endurance - Godly 16] Push through the water into whatever's on the other side.

YOU - Push through the water into whatever's on the other side.

+5 Cheated

+5 Cold

+5 Opportunist

+1 You can do it.

-5 Freezing, dying

CHECK SUCCESS

ENDURANCE [Godly: Success] - You don't fight it at first, simply allowing the water to roll over you -- waiting for an opening.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Challenging: Success] - For the waters to become less turbulent... there!

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - You surge forward through the deluge, breaking through the tide like it's nothing --

ENDURANCE - It *is* nothing. You can withstand it.

THE NARRATOR - You claw your way through the doorframe, emerging on... a beach. One encrusted with ice, buffeted by the cold.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - You've emerged from the driver's-side door of a motorcarriage, the door having been kicked off its hinges by your efforts.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - A Coupris 40, in full RCM livery -- this is *your* motorcarriage.

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - Was. *Was* your motorcarriage.

PAIN THRESHOLD - That you drove into the sea. That almost killed you.

THE NARRATOR - Sputtering and shivering, you crawl up onto the shore, the gravel and sand beneath your palms providing grip and peppering your skin with abrasion after abrasion.

SHIVERS [Challenging: Success] - This is as far as you can go.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Still can't feel it, thankfully. I'd take a few scrapes over drowning any day.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Medium: Success] - You've done this before. Your arms and legs remember the motions.

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - Just before you shattered the first time.

1. ...Here again. [Look around.]

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - You can see just fine now -- a shame that the world appears to end mere metres away. The edges of your vision blur into mist and then -- nothing at all. The only things of substance here are the sea, the ground, the ice, your car, some scraggly bushes, and the old swingset you've sat at more than your fair share of times.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - You had a major revelation sitting on that swing with Kim, coming to the realization your mistakes were vaster than you could've ever imagined. Sometimes, in the dead of night, while clubgoers stumble out of the nearby church in a daze, you return here and sit with your thoughts.

EMPATHY - Sometimes you cry. Sometimes you don't. Sometimes Isobel shuffles out from her home down the shore and brings you a blanket when the nights are too cold. But you always feel better afterward, no matter which it is.

1. ...Nowhere else to go. [Drag yourself up onto one of the swings.]

YOU - ...Nowhere else to go. [Drag yourself up onto one of the swings.]

THE NARRATOR - You manage to pull yourself up without falling despite your sorry state. The air is almost as freezing as the waters were, however - your respite will be short-lived in the end.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - No. No, this can't be all there is! There must be more, somewhere, some way to keep going, some way to win...

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Godly: Success] - The edge of the dream boils just out of reach. Oil paint on a pencil sketch -- incompatible mediums brought together in a place beyond reason.

LOGIC [Impossible: Failure] - Far, far beyond reason.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - ...There is color here. Was there not before? You... can't remember. But you know there *is* color here, the tans and browns of the soil and the greens of the shrubs and the blue-and-white of your abandoned vehicle poking out of the ice, and...

VISUAL CALCULUS [Legendary: Success] - And you can see the sky despite space not reaching to the horizon. Dawn is about to break.

1. Is this really the end? Is there really nothing else?

YOU - Is this really the end? Is there really nothing else?

THE NARRATOR - ...Yes. There's nothing else here. But - you never found the Princess. She has to be here somewhere, there's no other way out -

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - There were plenty of other doors we never took, you know. Dozens, maybe, in the stairwell and in the office -

INLAND EMPIRE [Legendary: Success] - None of them lead anywhere. The only path that existed was the one you walked down. You've reached the end of the line.

FLUX ET REFLUX [Trivial: Success] - No, this can't happen again, not again...

VOICE OF THE COLD - Nothing left except to wait for the end. A shame that we never found the world outside - only an empty shell. Maybe next time.

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...One more question. Something to take our minds off - this.

THE NARRATOR - You might as well. At this point both of our demises are assured.

1. Who *are* you? The rest of these voices all seem like parts of me to varying degrees, but *you* definitely don't.
2. How is this Princess supposed to end the world anyway? I've *killed* her before, and even working together we weren't able to escape. How can someone like that possibly destroy everything?
3. Tell me a fun fact about yourself.
4. She said you were 'barely even there' and 'kind of like her'. Do you know what she meant by that?
5. ...Do you know how I could get home? You didn't let me leave, before, even when I did what you asked.

YOU - ...Do you know how I could get home? You didn't let me leave, before, even when I did what you asked.

THE NARRATOR - ...Ask something else.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - But-

THE NARRATOR - Just - ask something else.

RHETORIC [Legendary: Success] - He doesn't know. More than that -- He doesn't understand.

1. Who *are* you? The rest of these voices all seem like parts of me to varying degrees, but *you* definitely don't.
2. How is this Princess supposed to end the world anyway? I've *killed* her before, and even working together we weren't able to escape. How can someone like that possibly destroy everything?
3. Tell me a fun fact about yourself.
4. She said you were 'barely even there' and 'kind of like her'. Do you know what she meant by that?
5. ...Do you know how I could get home? You didn't let me leave, before, even when I did what you asked.

YOU - She said you were 'barely even there' and 'kind of like her'. Do you know what she meant by that?

THE NARRATOR - In a past iteration, I assume? It must have been a part of her attempted manipulation, because I can assure you that I'm nothing like her.

AUTHORITY [Easy: Success] - He is indignant that you even floated the possibility. One last point of pride.

VOICE OF THE HERO - She was a ghost at the time, if it matters.

VOICE OF THE COLD - Not alive, but existing still. An afterimage.

THE NARRATOR - ...

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - ...Well? You have anything to say about this, you little-

FLUX ET REFLUX [Medium: Success] - He's gone.

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...So he is.

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...

RUSTY OLD SWING - For the first time since you left the world and entered a place beyond reason, your mind quiets to total silence. You can feel dozens of presences still piled behind your own, each one extant but equally at a loss for words. The only sounds at play are the waves on the shore, the creaking of the ice, the rustling of the breeze, and the squeak of the chains holding you aloft on this long-abandoned swingset.

1. Is this real, rusty old swing? Or is it just a distant dream?

YOU - Is this real, rusty old swing? Or is it just a distant dream?

RUSTY OLD SWING - A frame overencumbered with rust and corrosion stands silent in its uncertainty to your question. Perhaps it's been here forever -- perhaps it was never here at all.

RUSTY OLD SWING - ...

RUSTY OLD SWING - Time continues to pass. You don't know how long it's been -- the sun has not risen. The sky remains tinged with reds and oranges where it kisses the horizon, stars obscured by the display, but the cycle of the heavens will progress no further.

PERCEPTION (TOUCH) - It is still cold. Your clothes do not dry, even in the wind.

ENDURANCE - Not long, now.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - ...You should still have a pack of smokes on you. And a lighter, if you're lucky. You need *something* here, anything -- come on.

VOLITION - ...Go ahead.

1. [Light a cigarette.]
2. ...

YOU - [Light a cigarette.]

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Trivial: Success] - There *is* a pack in here, on an outer pocket of your coat, Astras -- but it's been soaked through by the water --

INLAND EMPIRE [Godly: Success] - There's exactly one in the middle left unscathed, held tight in stasis by a caring hand.

INTERFACING [Trivial: Success] - The lighter's already in your other hand, flame lit and waiting -- this particular model was marketed as waterproof. This movement was instinctual, performed daily for weeks on end.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - Intended to be shared with another.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - For the end-of-day debrief.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - The feeling as you raise the cigarette to your lips and take a drag... bliss. For just a second, even here.

C₁₀H₁₄N₂ - NICOTINE

INTELLECT RAISED +1

PAIN THRESHOLD - ...You *know* this also hurts, even if all the pain seems a million miles away.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - But it's the good kind of pain.

VOICE OF THE HERO - How can any kind of pain be good?

PAIN THRESHOLD - Life without pain is unachievable -- All things wear out, and to wear out is to suffer. What's important is to find something that makes the suffering *worthwhile*, and then -- to feel the little pains is to remember what it means to live.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - This pain would remind you of home, of long days and quiet nights, smoking on balconies and rooftops and beaches like this. Sometimes alone, sometimes not.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - ...These little sticks of tar and tobacco are bad for you. They're killing you, slowly --

HALF LIGHT [Challenging: Success] - But what does it matter if you're already dying?

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Don't think about that now. Think about the sweetness entering your lungs, the smoke leaving your mouth, the glow chewing down the end of the cig...

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Right now? This is all that matters. Hold on to this moment as long as you can.

1. [Hold on to the moment.]
2. [Let go.]

YOU - [Hold on to the moment.]

RUSTY OLD SWING - And time passes still. The last of the cigarette is spent and discarded -- you would be worried about littering if there were anyone else in the world to care.

RUSTY OLD SWING - ...

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Feels like the first moment we've really gotten to rest this whole time. There were others, but - there was always pressure, always something going wrong.

VOICE OF THE COLD - It's different than it was in the timeless void.

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...It's on our own terms. And it won't be forever.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - This can't be it. It just can't! Was there just - just never a way out? Was this always what we were gonna be stuck with?

FLUX ET REFLUX - I'm sorry. This is my fault, it has to be-

VOICE OF THE HERO - Why would it be your fault?

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - If we're pinning blame on anyone, I'd pass it off to Him. For one - He's not here. And for two...

VOICE OF THE COLD - We were only a tool to Him. A means to an end.

EMPATHY [Heroic: Success] - But He *did* care, the whole time. The empty space He left you in was a genuine gift -- He was deeply upset by your refusal of it. Even when He was killing you did He still care, in a way.

AUTHORITY [Easy: Success] - He had his priorities in order and you weren't at the top. The rest of the world was.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...We were so close.

RHETORIC - Alright, that tears it. I've been keeping track -- the way this one speaks is out of line with pretty much everyone else in here. Are you *sure* they're a part of you?

1. [Flux et Reflux - Medium 10] They *do* seem familiar... is this one new?
2. I already know they aren't. I've known the whole time.

YOU - I already know they aren't. I've known the whole time.

FLUX ET REFLUX - I-i don't know what you're talking about-

1. I know it's loud in here, but do you really think I wouldn't notice that a brand-new voice sounds suspiciously like a certain princess I know? Come on now.

YOU - I know it's loud in here, but do you really think I wouldn't notice that a brand-new voice sounds suspiciously like a certain princess I know? Come on now.

Task complete: Find the Princess

DRAMA - A masterful deception my liege. Well done indeed -- bravo.

VOLITION - ...It was pretty obvious.

VOICE OF THE HERO - I knew she sounded familiar...

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Oh yeah, I knew the whole time too. Really on the same wavelength, aren't we-

VOICE OF THE COLD - No, you didn't.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Any particular reason you didn't feel like sharing with the class, then? I think it would've been helpful to spill this earlier!

VOICE OF THE HERO - Would it have? He'd just try to get us to kill her, or try to kill the both of us again.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...Why?

1. I thought we were doing some kind of bit together, honestly.
2. Well, *you* didn't mention it, so I figured...
3. I didn't want to have to kill you again.
4. I figured you needed some time. Why did you try to hide? I forgave you, and I still forgive you. It wasn't your fault.
5. Before anything else -- can we get you out of there? There's too many thoughts in my head as it is. No offense.

YOU - Before anything else -- can we get you out of there? There's too many thoughts in my head as it is. No offense.

FLUX ET REFLUX - I... don't know.

INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - There is a way. Close your eyes.

1. How's this going to help?
2. I've learned not to question it by now. Sure. [Close your eyes.]

YOU - I've learned not to question it by now. Sure. [Close your eyes.]

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - What little there was to see is gone. Now -- only blackness.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Success] - But you hold the image of it close to your optical nerve, shadows on the wall of the cave. And you remember the image of her as well...

INTERFACING [Challenging: Success] - Put them together.

1. [Conceptualization - Impossible 18] Add her back to the image of the world you remember.

YOU - Add her back to the image of the world you remember.

+5 Only a dream

+5 Forgiven

+2 Kept the missing persons form

+2 Vast and multifaceted

-1 Fading memory

CHECK SUCCESS

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Impossible: Success] - Your mind's eye shifts to your left, an empty swing hanging beside yours. Is it really empty, though?

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...No. There should be someone else here.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - Pale skin, long hair, a slender build. A regal dress hanging down, dragging on the sand...

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Sleeveless shoulders and a pretty face. Some things never change.

HALF LIGHT - Large, large eyes -- larger than life. Not of this world.

INLAND EMPIRE [Impossible: Failure] - Even here, even now, the color of those eyes escapes you.

AUTHORITY - A tiara perched atop the head, a symbol of royal dominion.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION - Hands curling tight around rusted iron chain.

ENDURANCE - A pulse. Then -- the intake of breath.

COMPOSURE - And an exhale. A relaxing of the muscles. Head held low, observing the tides.

VISUAL CALCULUS - Counting the grains of the beach.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - But they cannot be counted -- they smear into a single brushstroke, painted onto the sketch.

SHIVERS [Easy: Success] - The swing rocks back and forth in a gentle breeze. A calming motion.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...If anyone could do this, it'd be you, wouldn't it?

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Of course it would be him. He's gotten us this far, hasn't he?

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - But not far enough. You did 'your best', sure - but we're still stuck.

INLAND EMPIRE [Legendary: Success] - There was a way out, among the trillion trillion branches of the probability tree. Roots and leaves, waxing and waning, pushing outward against the glass...

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Impossible: Success] - But it was never meant for you. You aren't a part of her -- but she is a part of you, in a way.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - Don't open your eyes. What you see will conflict with what you remember, then she'll be gone.

FLUX ET REFLUX - So, then. I still want to know... why? Why not call me out?

1. "I thought we were doing some kind of bit together, honestly."
2. "Well, *you* didn't mention it, so I figured..."
3. "I didn't want to have to kill you again."
4. "I figured you needed some time. Why did you try to hide? I forgave you, and I still forgive you. It wasn't your fault."

YOU - "I figured you needed some time. Why did you try to hide? I forgave you, and I still forgive you. It wasn't your fault."

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - And when was this? I don't remember forgiving anyone-

VOICE OF THE HERO - I forgive her. She tried to help us escape, in the end.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - It was more than He ever did, that's for sure.

VOICE OF THE COLD - It was in her nature to kill us with the way things went. A natural consequence.

FLUX ET REFLUX - But that doesn't excuse it!

FLUX ET REFLUX - You killed me, then you tried to make it right - and then I kill you right back! What kind of person does that make me?

FLUX ET REFLUX - Forgiveness... it's just words. Words don't mean anything - actions do. And I can't even...

FLUX ET REFLUX - I can't control myself. Whatever I'm around just seems to get worse. I mean, just look at where we are now.

FLUX ET REFLUX - Trapped, still...

PERCEPTION (HEARING) - She trails off at the end, voice quavering.

VOLITION [Formidable: Success] - She won't believe any of the obvious options, however true they are -- not right now. ...Maybe just a *little* self-depreciation is in order here. Just a touch.

1. "..."
2. "'Actions matter'? Did you forget when you pulled me up from the floor and kept us going a little while longer? I couldn't have done that alone. We didn't make it, but it was farther than we should've gotten."
3. "...You know you aren't the only fuckup here, right? This is only the latest aftermath of a long string of terrible decisions on my part."
4. "If I didn't waste so much time getting side-tracked, maybe we would've escaped last time."
5. "But it isn't comparable! I killed you with intent, you 'killed me' by accident -- it was really Him that did us *both* in. Screw that guy, god."

YOU - "...You know you aren't the only fuckup here, right? This is only the latest aftermath of a long string of terrible decisions on my part."

VOLITION - That was *more* than just a touch!

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - But it worked. She's calming down.

FLUX ET REFLUX - From the way they were describing these different places, I figured as much.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...I guess that's just life, isn't it? One mistake after the other. Heh.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - What a cruddy deal it all is.

SUGGESTION [Challenging: Success] - She'll come around on her own, in time. For now, change the subject -- something lighter, with whatever time you have left.

1. [Reach for the flask.]
2. "This is still better than being locked in the basement, surely. It may not be fully real, but it's still outside."
3. "What *did* you mean when you were talking about Him before? How was He like you?"
4. "...There's no way out, is there? Not for us, not like this. I don't think there ever was. It's almost reassuring, knowing we couldn't have done any better than we did."
5. "What now?"

YOU - [Reach for the flask.]

INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - It's there, but... it's empty. The weight you would expect from a filled flask is gone.

Item gained: Flask of Remorse and Reconciliation (Empty)

PERCEPTION (TOUCH) [Easy: Success] - But it's still a bit warm. Residual heat from what it once contained.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - It refilled the second time, but not this time. Something must be different here.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Success] - It too is a memory now. How long will you carry it around until it melds into the background noise of your life?

FLUX ET REFLUX - Is it empty? That's alright. I still remember the taste of what was in it last.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...I don't think I'll ever forget it.

INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] - She will.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Would've been nice to have just a bit more. Ah well.

VOICE OF THE COLD - No reason to carry it anymore. We may as well discard it - its purpose has been fulfilled.

1. [Offer her the flask.]
2. [Drop the flask.]
3. [Put the flask back.]

YOU - [Drop the flask.]

HAND/EYE COORDINATION - You let your fingers uncurl, the container falling from your hand.

Item lost: Flask of Remorse and Reconciliation (Empty)

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - ...You never hear it hit the ground.

VOICE OF THE HERO - Maybe it will fill again the next time. ...There will be a next time, right?

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - You remember He kept going on about us not having 'infinite tries'? He was devious, sure, but He never lied.

VOICE OF THE COLD - We will reach an ending either way. Hopefully it's an interesting one.

1. [Reach for the flask.]
2. "This is still better than being locked in the basement, surely. It may not be fully real, but it's still outside."
3. "What *did* you mean when you were talking about Him before? How was He like you?"
4. "...There's no way out, is there? Not for us, not like this. I don't think there ever was. It's almost reassuring, knowing we couldn't have done any better than we did."
5. "What now?"

YOU - "This is still better than being locked in the basement, surely. It may not be fully real, but it's still outside."

FLUX ET REFLUX - It is. It's... beautiful.

FLUX ET REFLUX - It's all been beautiful - even the ugly parts. Just knowing there's more out there, so much more...

VOICE OF THE HERO - A shame we never got to see the sun rise. I was kind of looking forward to it, honestly.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Course it wouldn't, that'd be too predictable now wouldn't it? It'd make sense, and we can't be having that, oh no...

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Formidable: Success] - This space is a dream of a sort. You've already brought her back into the picture, who's to say you can't do more?

1. [Conceptualization - Easy 8] Remember the sunrise.
2. [Inland Empire - Formidable 13] Imagine a sunrise.

YOU - Imagine a sunrise.

+5 Cheated

+5 Cold

+5 Opportunist

-5 Eyes closed

CHECK SUCCESS

INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - Not just one sun, no -- several suns clustered together, peeking over the horizon. Curiously exploring a world never meant to receive their warmth.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - The Sevenfold Sun Miracle, caused by the scattering of light off ice crystals suspended in the upper atmosphere. One of several atmospheric phenomena observed by the first settlers to the shores of Le Caillou that convinced them that the land there was blessed. It's how the Suzerainty got it's flag -- A depiction of the Miracle rising over the waves.

ENCYCLOPEDIA - The flag and the Miracle nowadays are both associated with modern fascist and monarchist movements --

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - But what a bunch of bastards associate it with has no bearing on its majesty.

PERCEPTION - You have never witnessed the Miracle with your own eyes -- no one has for decades, perhaps centuries -- but the image is clear as day in the forefront of your mind.

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...Wow. Just... wow.

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - Only the very best for us, eh?

VOICE OF THE COLD - ...I didn't think it would look like this.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - It doesn't, at least not usually. One or two false suns crop up from time to time, but this? This is beyond that.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - Well... at least it's something.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...

PERCEPTION (HEARING) - Not a word is spoken. She is enraptured by the sight.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - This is all you can do.

1. [Give it a few more minutes.]
2. [Say something else.]

YOU - [Give it a few more minutes.]

RUSTY OLD SWING - The minutes tick on. It feels different now -- warmth gradually returns to your skin as the night fades away, obscured but never gone.

RUSTY OLD SWING - ...

PERCEPTION (HEARING) - She breaks the silence first.

FLUX ET REFLUX - Thank you. I think... this is enough. Even if there's no true escape for me.

VOICE OF THE CHEATED - But we all deserved more.

1. [Reach for the flask.]
2. "This is still better than being locked in the basement, surely. It may not be fully real, but it's still outside."
3. "What *did* you mean when you were talking about Him before? How was He like you?"
4. "...There's no way out, is there? Not for us, not like this. I don't think there ever was. It's almost reassuring, knowing we couldn't have done any better than we did."
5. "What now?"

YOU - "What *did* you mean when you were talking about Him before? How was He like you?"

FLUX ET REFLUX - I'm just a memory, now. An echo of someone that used to be alive.

FLUX ET REFLUX - Even right now, you're still just pretending that I'm here - but I'm not. Not anymore.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...I think He's like that too. That's what it felt like while I was still in there with all of them.

Task updated: What is she?

Task updated: What is He?

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - He was single-minded in His intents for as long as you knew Him. Could slaying her be *His* 'unfinished business'?

VOICE OF THE HERO - It'd explain a lot, wouldn't it?

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - He believed it to be true every time He spoke of the coming apocalypse should you fail in your quest.

HALF LIGHT [Challenging: Success] - You can feel it coming. The unravelling is close, so very close...

1. [Reach for the flask.]
2. "This is still better than being locked in the basement, surely. It may not be fully real, but it's still outside."
3. "What *did* you mean when you were talking about Him before? How was He like you?"
4. "...There's no way out, is there? Not for us, not like this. I don't think there ever was. It's almost reassuring, knowing we couldn't have done any better than we did."
5. "What now?"

YOU - "...There's no way out, is there? Not for us, not like this. I don't think there ever was. It's almost reassuring, knowing we couldn't have done any better than we did."

VOICE OF THE OPPORTUNIST - A bit of a depressing thought there, isn't it? Maybe there was another choice we didn't pick that would've seen us through.

VOICE OF THE HERO - If there was, it's long gone by now. This is the path we're on, so it's the only path we have.

FLUX ET REFLUX - Maybe. But... I have a feeling that things will be alright.

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - Completely at ease, her eyes raise to the sun. She doesn't appear bothered by looking directly into it.

FLUX ET REFLUX - ...We did our best.

1. [Reach for the flask.]
2. "This is still better than being locked in the basement, surely. It may not be fully real, but it's still outside."
3. "What *did* you mean when you were talking about Him before? How was He like you?"
4. "...There's no way out, is there? Not for us, not like this. I don't think there ever was. It's almost reassuring, knowing we couldn't have done any better than we did."
5. "What now?"

YOU - "What now?"

FLUX ET REFLUX [Impossible: Success] - Now? I think... now something new happens.

COMPOSURE - You feel hands reach out to touch yours. ...Too many hands.

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - A decillionfold embrace for the both of you, a return to the self.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - She isn't worried in the slightest. If anything, she finally seems at peace.

VOICE OF THE HERO - ...Maybe we will be too.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - The many-handed-one plucks you out of the dream, all else fading to darkness. You fall with her into the black as the tape finally comes to a stop.

---